I wasn’t sure I felt the same way. “What if Beau doesn’t feel the same way? He ghosted me before.” I wasn’t sure I could handle that again.
“I’ll kill him.” Maverick pulled back to stare at me, fire in his eyes. “Don’t think I won’t. Just because Jackson is back in my life, that doesn’t mean I’m not still that asshole.”
I snorted. “Mav, I love you, but what could you do to Beau?”
“You doubt me?”
“Actually, now that I think about it, no.”
He smirked. “Remember the fights Kill and I had?” Then his smiled dropped from his face. “Jesus, those were bad. I shouldn’t even brag about them. I wanted to murder him because I was scared of my sexuality and pissed that he came out. That he was so damn happy. I was a dick.”
“But you’re out now. Engaged to the love of your life,” I reminded him. “And Killian forgave you.” I pushed the hair back on Mav’s forehead.
Maverick smiled. “I am.” His cheeks burned pink as he thought about Jackson. “Killian and Matty have both been pretty amazing, but I still feel like a complete shit about what I did.”
“All you can do is continue to not be.” I hugged him again.
Maverick grunted. “I know, but sometimes I just get so angry with myself for what I did. For how I acted and what I said. It was wrong, Dean. That’s not the man I am.”
“They know,” I assured him. “We all know. This man, this person you are right now? This is who you really are. The brother I grew up with, laughed with, and looked up to is who you are now. I always knew you were there, Mav. I’m glad you’re back.”
Maverick’s eyes welled with tears. “Don’t make me cry.” He sniffed and then he squeezed me so tightly I felt like my ribs might crack. “God, I missed you so much. You know that, right? You were always such a great brother. Not one of those annoying ones.”
“I missed you, too.” I chuckled. “Come on. Let’s go get something to eat. Weren’t you going to take me to some place that has the best lobster rolls in Boston?”
He nodded. “You’re going to love them, trust me.”
And Maverick wasn’t wrong. It was some little food truck that I was more than skeptical about, but the lobster rolls were perfect. We found a bench to sit on, laughed, and talked about everything and anything. The wedding that Maverick and Jackson were planning. The upcoming six-week tour that Maverick didn’t want to go on to promote our next album. Fostering Andy.
And what the future might hold for Beau and me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Beau
Ididn’t want to be here in this interview. My mind kept wondering to the beautiful green-haired man waiting for me back at my apartment. The one who liked to steal my shirts while I pretended not to notice. The guy who looked perfect in my bed. Who had a gorgeous smile and a sexy laugh. The one who had me breaking all my rules and thinking about things I hadn’t thought of in years. Things like wedding bells, houses, and forever. I really should put a stop to this before it got out of hand. But would coming out be such a bad thing?
“Beau?”
I blinked in surprise. I guess I should be paying more attention. “I’m sorry, I missed that. Can you repeat the question?”
Jackson snickered next to me, while Asher and Wyatt stared at me from across the table. It wasn’t like me to get so distracted. I was usually the one riding their asses. Telling them to grow up and stop acting like kids. Dean really had turned my world upside down. And I didn’t exactly hate it.
Jordan White, the one doing the interview, smiled at me. “Of course.” His dark eyes flashed with curiosity. “I asked if you had any plans for retirement. You’re thirty-eight now. Not that all the Boston fans want to see that happen, but I’m sure it’s something you have thought about.”
“I have.” Even more so now that Dean had come into my life. “Maybe once my son graduates high school. If he ends up goingto college somewhere other than Boston, I might want to be closer to him.”
Jordan nodded. “And does Cole have NHL dreams like you?”
“That’s something you know I don’t talk about. He plays high school hockey right now and is concentrating on being a normal teenager.” These asshole interviewers always liked to push the boundaries to see how far they could go. And he knew better than to ask anything about my son, even if I brought him up.
Jordan flashed a fake smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Jackson, you’re recently engaged. Have you and Maverick set a wedding date yet?”
And just like that, the conversation moved away from me. I watched Asher and Wyatt as Jackson spoke freely about his fiancé. Listened to him talk about how they weren’t going to let anyone know when they were going to get married so they could keep it private. Wyatt and Asher were too close together. Their shoulders pushed together. I tilted my head and raised my brows when Asher caught me watching.
“Knock it off,”I mouthed at him. Because if I could see it, so could Jordan.
“Wyatt.” Jordan suddenly turned the conversation to them, and Asher shoved his chair away. “You’re having a great season.”
